Sunday, May 22, 2011

The British singer and songwriter John Martyn, was at the top of his creativity in 1967, when he released his first album called "London Conversation". Bilbo had following to say on this: "His voice is similar to Davy Graham's, and the style John Martyn plays on his debut is the folk twined with blues that many British singers put out in the mid to late 1960's. All of the songs are wonderful, a surprising guitar leads and picks from start to finish."

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Checking out the Lollipop Shoppe's first and only album "Just Colour" was first surprising and then a bit disappointing. The best track on this album is indeed "Underground Railroad". It's a very strong song, a bit dark and maybe even acherontic. A hint of oriental melodies combined with bassy Jefferson Airplane sound and garagy trashing drums and voices. It's just great!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Burbank, California-based Alshire label was best known for it's cheapo international music (eg. The Sounds Of Spain, The Tijuana Sound, Hawaiian Paradise) and 101 String MOR collections. In pursuit of profit rather than content, 1967 saw the label shell out some cash to have anonymous studio musicians write and record a series of psych-oriented instrumentals. Slapping a pseudo-trippy cover on the results (ignore the dazed long haired teens pictured on the cover since they certainly had nothing to do with the set), the cleverly titled The Animated Egg proved surprising accomplished. With little at stake, the anonymous band (no performing or writing credits are provided), roared through an all-instrumental set; material such as A Love Built On Sand, I Said, She Said, Ah Cid and Sock It My Way are heavy on fuzz, feedback and swirling organ. Elsewhere, Sippin' An Trippin' offered up a nifty slice of Byrds-styled jangle rock, while Tomorrow was a blatant rip off of The Spencer Davis Group's Gimme Some Lovin'. (~Fuzz, Acid & Flowers)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I was discovering Sky Picnic at Dr. Schluss' Garage Of Psychedelic Obscurities.Their sound fascinated me the first time I heared it. The melodies and effects remind me very much of the early Pink Folyd recordings. Until Nasoni Records from Berlin re-reased their 2010 debut "Farther In This Fairy Tale" I guess, they were a kind an unknown band. Did already someone suggested them to play at the Austin Psych Fest or at the Burg Herzberg Festival? Would become a great act I think!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

October '67 signalled on record, the arrival of cult Leicester group The Family whose debut single 'Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens' not only had a trippy title but was also one of the very best psychedelic records from England (and there were many killers). 'Scene' starts off real slow with Roger Chapman's famous warble combined with a hypnotic slightly eastern sound. But mid way into this psychedelic classic the pulsating lysergic rhythms take the listener beyond the stars. (~ expo67-cavestones.blogspot.com)

The Magnificents second studio album (and third full-length) "Dope Idiots" got released last october. Officially under the umbrella of World in Sound / Trip in Time. you can get it on CD and LP (Gatefold + Poster, ...). Now let's hear Sky "Sunlight" Saxon speaking from heaven to us and announcing one of his favourite bands; The Magnificent Brotherhood of Eternal Love and The Happiness's Close Companions. This song is crawling out of the Garage and rises high into weird and psychedelic spheres... also enjoy their freaky video at the end of this post!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Well, all we know about this band is, that it was placed somewhere in colorado (according to the Psychedelic States Series). Gentle glockenspiel and chary guitar, chorus and everything else stereotype we need for a chilled psychedelic Folk-Rock track. Enjoy!

Monday, January 24, 2011

First you may wonder about the clear sound (no skratches, no pops and clicks, ...), than you may realize, that this is not from the sixties but from nowadays! The Skywalkers are comming from the netherlands and released their first LP on the Grey Past Label. The Album is limited to 300 copies. Soon after release, they are about to be sold out. A mix of Garage-Psych and 60's beat will blow you away! In march the last avaible copies will be in stock at the Surreal Peppermint Store! Have fun!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merrell Fankhauser is mainly known from his work on Fapardokly debut and his recordings with the group MU. Since 1973 he had been living at Maui Island, Hawaï. Merrell: "After Mu broke up I went solo and moved deeper into the Maui rainforest, to study the Lost Continent and ancient Hawaiian history, that in itself is a mystical experience. Living 25 miles out in the jungle next to a free flowing stream by a waterfall can be very enlightening. When you don't have electricity or TV and you hear all the sounds of nature with no man made sound to pollute your mind you become aware and inspired in a new way. I was living with my girlfriend, violinist Mary Lee, and we stayed pretty much to a vegetarian diet, I did eat quite a bit of fresh fish, as it is so good in Hawaii. We played many places as a duo and had a steady gig at a club in Kahului for about 6 months."

UK Psych-Pop/Rock-Sike from an band that only released an 7" and splitted after 1 year. Band member Andy Summer later joined "The Police", "Soft Machine" and many others... Drummer Colin Allen went to play with John Mayall. And singer Zoot Moneywould also joined Eric Burdon's Animals.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

the first time I played their album, I had no look on the release date and thought the Pisces were an old band from the late 60's. but then I felt, that something sounds like neo-psychedelia, but no, the Pisces album really got recorded in 1969. "Mary" reminds on the psychedelic moments of "Marijuana Unknowns Vol. 1" compilation. Dr. Schluss is telling you more: http://psychedelicobscurities.blogspot.com/2010/11/pisces-1969-lovely-sight.html

I actually saw this band live at 1601 W Evans (The Family Dog) in Denver sometime in '67. They were more of a Jefferson Airplane style band than Byrds. Female singer, lots of jangly guitars with folk-style harmonies. Live they were pretty good, certainly better than the production on this recording. Didn't get much airplay locally and definitely not nationally.I think (not sure) they were originally from Colorado, went to CA, made 1 record (a single), then disappeared. ~by davequ

Monday, November 29, 2010

Os Haxixins are a contemporary Garage-Psych band from Brazil. After the great success of their first album, they now released their 2nd one "Under the Stones" - on LP - only on the Portuguese "Groovie Records", wich also will release the upcomming Lana Loveland LP.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Bow Street Runners released one of my favourite psychedelic-albums! soft female vocals, and gentle melodies with fuzzy elwmwnts as well... just a fantastic song! Here is, what you can read on their official site:

"It was a magical time for music, the Bow Street Runners were in high school, following that Rock’n’Roll dream. The music was great — Doors, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Beatles — George, Steve and I would practice in George’s garage and on Saturday and on Saturday nights play the YMCA, the Skating Rink and the Teen Club (remember those?). After we graduated we played night clubs from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington, D.C. for a few years, what we used to call the “Chitlin’ Circuit.” Eventually we got to play concert openers for Strawberry Alarm Clock, Big Brother and the Holding Co., Blood Rock, Chubby Checker, Percy Sledge and bunch more . . . As time went on the Rock’n’Roll dream faded, Steve and George went to college and I continued to play music full time, but now it was jazz.In 1981 I met keyboardist David Guy. We performed throughout North Carolina for the next 10 years doing anything we had to do to make money making music. When George and Steve moved back to Fayetteville in the early nineties, the Bow Street Runners had a reunion — this time in Steve’s garage. We discovered that the music was still there, we remembered all the old songs as if it were yesterday, only now they had more depth and power. Like fine wine, the Bow Street Runners had matured and the music along with them. We decided that we’d have to play some gigs (just for the fun of it). So we got together with David and started booking.The Bow Street Runners have been back together playing all the songs they grew up with (and some new ones) now for 6 years, with a friendship that spans 32 years. What is most amazing is that the music seems fresh and contemporary, we love our songs so much that every time we do it all seems new. As we’ve been performing these last few years we’ve come to realize that the music spans all generations and our audience includes people building new memories as well as those who are remembering the past — for us it’s both. "

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A classic Psychedelic Rock track that can be found on some compilations. I tought wow, let's see, what the band did on their albums... but well, ... it was a bit disapointing, ... if I remember right, the albums where loaded with blues rock, not bad stuff, but also not, what I expected. anyway, enjoy this track!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I don't know, why it took me so long to discover this great band! on their debut album from 1968 they combine the early Jefferson Airplane sound with that of the psychedelic songs from the Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Also a heavy load Psychedelic Folk-Rock rythmns mashed up by Garage Rock. The song you can listen to above is a nice example for their sound (totally stoned!!). Get the complete album if you can!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

While others buzzed within the hippie epicenters of Haight Street and the Lower East Side, Silmaril formed in haunted, industrial Milwaukee. Other bands might have met at a love-in; Silmaril were friends from a Catholic youth retreat bound together by a doomed figure in the eccentric madman tradition of Syd Barrett, Roy Harper and Mel Lyman by the name of Matthew Peregrine. The Voyage of Icarus captures the dark, mysterious, and achingly beautiful acid folk & Christian themed psychedelic sounds that emanated from 1973's privately pressed album, Given Time... Or the Several Roads, and their dormant, unreleased follow up No Mirrored Temple. (~Clear-Spot)

Thursday, July 8, 2010

In 1967/68, Big Jim Sullivan from the Middlesex, UK managed to record three very groovy Sitar albums. Sadly this was not meant to hold on. He played as a session-musician and did every sucking job he could get. Well, he played for the Hermint's Hermint's and the Kinks in studio, but it looks like that was only a job for him, nothing a idealist would be happy with. So it came that he even played 9 years for James Last, what is really strange while thinking back of those three first Sitar-Psych LP's. Anyway, this song is just a damn good piece of Acid Folk, enjoy!

Monday, June 21, 2010

It's 1967 again and "Fapardokly" is actually the album title, but the producer forgot to put Merrell & The Exiles on the cover as the band name! I know it's confusing. The LP is actually a compilation of Merrell Fankhauser & The Exiles tunes written & recorded from 1964-1967.This song is like the never ending ecstasy from "8 Miles High" followed by some wah-ing psyh-pop to fade out at least.

It's 1967 and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy hit the peak of psychedelic music before they fall into a melting pot of annoying pop. this track is also taken from the "Spreading from the Ashes" compilation that feat. a lot of nice archival material by the PBC. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

One of the Obskure occurrences of the Japanese underground-acid-culture is the group "Ghost" along with LSD March, Kawabata Makoto, Vava Kitora and many many more... It's hard to look through these scene, as only some of them are known in Europe and America and the most of the releases is not avaible outside Asia. If you got some tips, post them in comments!

The atmosphere of this tracks is filled with surrounding traditional instrumental sound, Comus playing and psychedelic winds blowing through the landscape of your mind.